KHAO LAK, Thailand  Rescuers saved a rare dolphin swept over a Thai beach by the tsunami which devasted shores around the Indian Ocean, but failed to find her calf in a filthy lake left behind by the giant wave.

After two days of failed attempts amid bickering between Thai and foreign rescuers over how to save the endangered Indo-Pacific humpback, the animal was plucked from the lake in a net and released into the sea more than 1 km (1,100 yards) away.

"She swam away like a rocket. It was fantastic," said animal rescue expert Edwin Wiek. "I thought she was going to be a lot weaker."

However, rescuers failed to locate her calf dumped in the same foetid lake by the wall of water that struck Thailand's Andaman Sea coastline on Dec. 26.